Sur Le Zinc
New Producer from Provence – Domaine Fontchêne
Once in a great while, we come across a new estate that leaves us speechless, one that produces wines with so much depth and complexity that they stop you in your tracks. Domaine Fontchêne is just such a property. Current owner and winemaker René Milan was born and raised in the neighboring village of Saint-Rémy-de-Provence… READ MORE
Wines of the Alps – Exploring Domaine des Ardoisières and Domaine Curtet
Stretching through seven European countries and topping out at 15,781 feet at their highest point, the first thoughts that spring to mind when most people hear about the Alps are about snow and skiing. However, at lower altitudes, these mountains support an enormous amount of agriculture – in modern parlance, the term “alp” refers to… READ MORE
New Producer from Madiran -Domaine Laougué
Tucked into the foothills of the Pyrenees, Madiran is a hidden gem of a winemaking region that produces red, white, and sweet wines. This area features rolling hills, unspoiled nature, and a unique heritage, and the wines that come from here couldn’t be from anywhere else in France or the world. It is here, lying… READ MORE
Château Fosse-Sèche’s Commitment to Biodiversity
Few wineries impress with such an illustrious history as Château de Fosse-Sèche. First planted to vine by Benedictine monks in the 1200s, the Pire-Keller family established the modern incarnation of the estate in 1998. Situated near the tiny village of Brossay, two brothers, Adrien and Guillaume Pire, tend to the 45-hectare property with the utmost… READ MORE
The Remarkable Geology of the Agly Valley
Reading Time: 3 minutes Located in the larger IGP of the Côtes Catalanes, the Agly Valley is nestled in the foothills of the Corbieres Massif, an ancient mountain range in the pre-Pyrenees. Coming from the west, you descend into the valley on narrow mountain roads flanked on either side by sheer walls of white limestone…. READ MORE
Drinking Sans Soufre – You’ll Be All Right
Reading Time: 3 minutes At the risk of wading into a hotbed of controversy, it’s time to talk about sulfites. Much ink has been spilled as to whether sulfites cause headaches or other symptoms and equal amounts of effort have been put into marketing low-sulfite wine and its perceived health benefits. However, much of the… READ MORE
Rediscovering Sauvignon Blanc
Reading time: 4 minutes When scanning wine lists and scouring retail shelves, most people in the industry have their go-to’s, whether it’s high-acid Riesling, cult Beaujolais, or any other sought-after category of the moment. That’s not to say we do not color outside the lines, but I am certainly an acid hound all the way,… READ MORE
New Producer in the Southern Rhône – Domaine du Trapadis
Rasteau is an appellation that is close to Martine’s Wines President Greg Castells’ heart. This ancient winemaking region, long known for its Vins Doux Naturels, has recently begun to be acclaimed for its dry red wines as well, gaining full Cru status in 2010. Castells’ appreciation for these wines goes back to 1996, when, as… READ MORE
2021 Burgundy: A Small But Mighty Vintage
Reading time: 3 minutes In his summary of the 2021 vintage in Burgundy, wine critic Neal Martin provocatively proclaimed, “it is indisputably one of the most fiendishly complex, byzantine seasons I can recall.” The reasons for this are many, but chief among them was undeniably the weather. Save for a horde of locusts, it seemed… READ MORE
New Producer from Saint-Joseph – Thomas Farge
Located on hillside slopes just across the Rhône River from Hermitage, Saint-Joseph and its iconic granite soils are home to a variety of microclimates, all of which give this unsung appellation great diversity. When carefully crafted, these serious, age-worthy wines can go toe-to-toe with any of the more famous Rhône appellations. Saint-Joseph is also an… READ MORE
